Leatherheads (2008)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Daniel P

  
  Three stars might be a little high, but I had heard such bad things about this movie that to end up liking it bumps up its rating. It's another old-timey Clooney joint, which he is perfect for, and Renee Zellweger, whose look is really not for me, plays well as a determined… More
  Three stars might be a little high, but I had heard such bad things about this movie that to end up liking it bumps up its rating. It's another old-timey Clooney joint, which he is perfect for, and Renee Zellweger, whose look is really not for me, plays well as a determined journalist in an age of blatant sexism. Lots of honest laughs and love, but there's a chase scene in the middle that's so campy you might want to turn it off. It's an immature work by an emerging director, but Clooney's going to keep getting better - Good Night and Good Luck showed a ton of promise. As for Leatherheads, though... it's a silly, disposable film, but fun nonetheless; I mean, how many other movies about 1920s professional football have you seen? If nothing else, it's fairly original (for Hollywood), and Rick Reilly's work on the script appears to have helped a lot.

• Phil H

  
  A lovely and amusing film which really looks the business but is unfortunatley rather dull haha. As said the look of the film is truly brilliant, the costumes and sets all look great and really stand out. The casting was very good, Clooney shows his quite surprisingly good prat falls… More
  A lovely and amusing film which really looks the business but is unfortunatley rather dull haha. As said the look of the film is truly brilliant, the costumes and sets all look great and really stand out. The casting was very good, Clooney shows his quite surprisingly good prat falls and facial humour, his acting isn't topps but for this its sufficent. Both Krasinski and Zellweger are also good choices for the era, Zellweger has always looked as if she's been kidnapped from the era but her acting is pretty dire. Krasinski is fine but nothing special, alittle too wet really. To look at they fit perfectly yet the acting isn't too good. One scene where Clooney and Zellweger are escaping from a speakeasy raid by the police is pretty embarrasing really, corny, cheesy and terrible acting, it isn't much better throughout to be honest. The whole thing is sweet and charming but its just dull and not very entertaining with dodgy acting, the great period looks save it.

• Anthony L

  
  I actually rather enjoyed this film. It?s been given really bad reviews, which I can't help but feel is a little unfair. The direction is great, the acting is spot on and the script is really, really good! C'mon people, it?s really not that bad!

• Tim S

  
  It's really too bad that this film falls on it's face as hard as it does. Clooney and, yes, even Krasinski are charming as shit and do what they can with the little material they are given. There is an underlying current in this film that I wish they would have focused more… More
  It's really too bad that this film falls on it's face as hard as it does. Clooney and, yes, even Krasinski are charming as shit and do what they can with the little material they are given. There is an underlying current in this film that I wish they would have focused more on (the changing of sports when the "rules" got involved) and instead tried to go with a tired love story which allows Zellweger to waste my time yet again playing that way ahead of her time woman role. Either way, Clooney does know how to frame a shot and make it look pretty, with nice cinematography by Thomas Newton Sigel. It's like watching Ladykillers by the Coen Bros., you keep wanting to like it, but then just find yourself scratching your head.

• Sanjaya &

  
  Well, I must admit that George Clooney make a weird movie to me... It can't be called as a drama movie because this movie was very light, but full of long conversation with pretty much difficult words used... While if it's classified as a comedy, it didn't make me laugh… More
  Well, I must admit that George Clooney make a weird movie to me... It can't be called as a drama movie because this movie was very light, but full of long conversation with pretty much difficult words used... While if it's classified as a comedy, it didn't make me laugh at all!! How ridiculous... George Clooney himself just looks very old in this old fashioned movie, while Renee Zellweger gave a performance I've been waiting for since last I saw her in her Oscar winning performance in Cold Mountain... And John Krasinski really shows some potential as a young comedy actor... Overall, the story about football really didn't interest me best because the fact that I watched this movie just not to miss Renee's performance in her every single movie...

• Summer W

  
  A fun little football farce with a good cast.

• Michael G

  
  I'm a big fan of George Clooney's other directorial outings but Leatherheads just didn't cut it. I applaud him for trying to make not only another period piece but a movie that echoed the classic screwball comedies of the 30s and 40s. Leatherheads has its amusing… More
  I'm a big fan of George Clooney's other directorial outings but Leatherheads just didn't cut it. I applaud him for trying to make not only another period piece but a movie that echoed the classic screwball comedies of the 30s and 40s. Leatherheads has its amusing moments (the speakeasy fight is the only one that sticks out right now) and I didn't hate Renee Zellweger as much as I thought I would or normally do. Clooney's Clooney but John Krasinski was pretty dull. I'm not a fan of sports or sports movies but I don't think my lack of enthusiasm for this movie had anything to do with that.

• Jose Z

  
  Leatherheads is a romantic comedy set in the world of 1920s football, where the owner of a professional team drafts a strait-laced college sensation, only to watch his new coach fall for his fiancée. George Clooney directs his second movie and sincerely after his multi-nominated Good… More
  Leatherheads is a romantic comedy set in the world of 1920s football, where the owner of a professional team drafts a strait-laced college sensation, only to watch his new coach fall for his fiancée. George Clooney directs his second movie and sincerely after his multi-nominated Good Night and Good Luck, I think he came up short with this one. The story is interesting but the plot is kinda predictable and not very well developed, some situations in the movie are simply ridiculous. The cast is really good but the performances wasn't that good. George Clooney and Renee Zellweger make a very good couple. In conclusion, Leatherheads is an enjoyable movie but worth to see only on DvD.

• Dean M

  
  Good and enjoyable romantic comedy set in the world of 1920s American football. I can see the elements of the classic comedy style where the leads are tetchy adversaries until that sudden snap realisation that golly-gee, they actually kind of like each other, this movie is ace from… More
  Good and enjoyable romantic comedy set in the world of 1920s American football. I can see the elements of the classic comedy style where the leads are tetchy adversaries until that sudden snap realisation that golly-gee, they actually kind of like each other, this movie is ace from start to finish.

• Julie B

  
  Bad plane movie #1. Oh George, what got into you?

• Mark H

  
  Romantic comedy set in the 1920s about the early days of the NFL. Film desperately wants to be one of those screwball comedies Hollywood did to perfection in the 30s and 40s. Unfortunately, the story lacks any kind of focus or excitement. Furthermore, the narrative is such a… More
  Romantic comedy set in the 1920s about the early days of the NFL. Film desperately wants to be one of those screwball comedies Hollywood did to perfection in the 30s and 40s. Unfortunately, the story lacks any kind of focus or excitement. Furthermore, the narrative is such a labored exercise in capturing nostalgic details, it all becomes a tedious bore. In a word, it's joyless.

• Al S

  
  An fantastic and brilliant comedy. A field goal of gut-busting laughs that you will love from begining to end. Pure fun and enjoyment that will have you falling over in laughter. Sensational and hilarious. A classy, well-written and terifficly performed movie. Director and star,… More
  An fantastic and brilliant comedy. A field goal of gut-busting laughs that you will love from begining to end. Pure fun and enjoyment that will have you falling over in laughter. Sensational and hilarious. A classy, well-written and terifficly performed movie. Director and star, George Clooney shows more great star power and outragious comic ability. Renee Zellweger, John Krasinski and George Clooney are irrisistable together, they have such, witty wonderful and magnificent chemistry. This sports flick delivers it all, action, romance and comedy that scores.

• Bob O

  
  Clooney and Zellweger are certainly charming. There sharp dialogue bounced back and forth had a bit of the old fashioned spark of Gable and Colbert in It Happened One Night. In fact the whole film has a very old fashioned feel and accomodates it's 1920's setting… More
  Clooney and Zellweger are certainly charming. There sharp dialogue bounced back and forth had a bit of the old fashioned spark of Gable and Colbert in It Happened One Night. In fact the whole film has a very old fashioned feel and accomodates it's 1920's setting comfortably. If director Clooney was going for that he hit the mark, but unfortunately he misses his reciever on many other essential levels. The film suffers tremendously from the lack of a strong central focus. Is it a football movie, or a romance, or about a scandel, or a screwball comedy, or a period piece, or all of those things? Most accurately, it's none of those things leaving an unengaging dog pile of dissatisfying pieces that don't add up to anything. Despite it's charms Leatherheads' offensive line crumbles due to a flimsy plot structure that can't stay out of the mud.

• Manu G

  
  I really liked this movie. So witty and stylish I just loved the 20's, that era was so fun and decent. A romantic comedy set in the world of 1920s football, where the owner of a professional team drafts a strait-laced college sensation, only to watch his new coach fall for his… More
  I really liked this movie. So witty and stylish I just loved the 20's, that era was so fun and decent. A romantic comedy set in the world of 1920s football, where the owner of a professional team drafts a strait-laced college sensation, only to watch his new coach fall for his fiancée.

• Luke B

  
  Clooney takes on the screwball comedy genre with much success. The laughs are plentiful but perhaps too much like their old counterparts. Some is dated and not as funny as it once was. Luckily Clooney is a truly great actor and one who has a classic movie star of old feel and style.… More
  Clooney takes on the screwball comedy genre with much success. The laughs are plentiful but perhaps too much like their old counterparts. Some is dated and not as funny as it once was. Luckily Clooney is a truly great actor and one who has a classic movie star of old feel and style. Like Intolerable Cruelty the film makes the most of its charmin lead though other relationships aren't properly extended upon. After Goodnight and Goodluck this film may seem like a disspointment, but it is a wonderful tribute to films of old even if it doesn't quite match up to them. It doesn't help I'm not really a fan of American football but still the final game isn't exactly exhilerating but maybe that's the point.

• William D

  
  [font=Garamond][size=3]I thought "Leatherheads" was going to crackle with smart dialogue and have an interesting, involved story. Instead its script is only slightly above average and its story is horrendously simple. I was mildly entertained throughout, but only mildly.… More
  [font=Garamond][size=3]I thought "Leatherheads" was going to crackle with smart dialogue and have an interesting, involved story. Instead its script is only slightly above average and its story is horrendously simple. I was mildly entertained throughout, but only mildly. There were only about five really good laughs. [/size][/font] [font=Garamond][size=3][img]http://www.theage.com.au/ffximage/2008/04/04/0504LEATHERHEADS_wideweb__470x282,0.jpg[/img][/size][/font] [font=Garamond][size=3]It is enjoyable watching [b]George Clooney[/b] be scrappy and [b]Renee Zellweger[/b] be spunky, but it's the version of scrappy and spunky that would make Norman Rockwell smile. In many ways "Leatherheads" is a Norman Rockwell painting come to life. Everything is a smooth, superficial cliche, drowning in Americana. The story is set in 1925, when college football was a big draw but pro football drew as many fans as arena football does today.[/size][/font] [font=Garamond][size=3][still working on this][/size][/font] [font=Garamond][size=3][/size][/font] [font=Garamond][size=3][img]http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/graphics/2008/04/11/bfleather.jpg[/img][/size][/font] [font=Garamond][size=3][/size][/font] [img]http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3084/2374977733_67f372de86.jpg[/img]

• Candy R

  
  Set in the 1920s before American football went professional. George's character Dodge is getting old and his team sucks, so he attracts an American football college star to play on his team. They fight on the field and over Renee who plays a journalist out to dish the dirt. I… More
  Set in the 1920s before American football went professional. George's character Dodge is getting old and his team sucks, so he attracts an American football college star to play on his team. They fight on the field and over Renee who plays a journalist out to dish the dirt. I love the one on one fighting scene. The pace of the movie is a little slow but George is a great comic actor with slapstick humour.

• moon r

  
  george clooney does some job here impersonating cary grant and his performance is the center of a film that's more than a smile and a nod dedication to the screwball comedies of those halycon golden days of hollywood. everyone else in the film deliberates on the subject of… More
  george clooney does some job here impersonating cary grant and his performance is the center of a film that's more than a smile and a nod dedication to the screwball comedies of those halycon golden days of hollywood. everyone else in the film deliberates on the subject of resurrecting that genre, but that's about all that they do, not having clooney's familial background and heritage with the same. maybe yah gotta be bred for it. ms. zellweger gives an admirable attempt to capture the zeighest, but it eludes her slippery grasp, just as it does the rest of the cast. a great might have been here.

• Aaron N

  
  [On the morning before a game] CC: You look like hell. Dodge: Yeah, well I've been drinkin' all night. Here's a simple but entertaining sports/romantic comedy, directed by Clooney, who has decided to set in a style that homages old screwball comedies. The whole style… More
  [On the morning before a game] CC: You look like hell. Dodge: Yeah, well I've been drinkin' all night. Here's a simple but entertaining sports/romantic comedy, directed by Clooney, who has decided to set in a style that homages old screwball comedies. The whole style of this film plays like it could have passed as a film by George Roy Hill, or even the Coen brothers. It's nothing entirely original or non-predictable, but its a charming film non-the-less, due to its style and the natural charisma that Clooney has as an actor. Clooney stars as Dodge Connelly, a pro-football player in 1925, in the days when there were no rules and football was on the verge of breaking down. Hearing about other teams folding, Dodge needs some sort of plan to keep the ball rolling. This comes in the form of Carter "The Bullit" Rutherford, played by John Krasinski. He is a natural born football player, as well as a war hero in the public eye, after stories spreading about him making the Germans surrender to him. Dodge makes a play to have Carter play on his team, The Bulldogs, in order to pack the stands, and gain popularity. There is also the issue of Lexi Littleton, played by Renee Zellweger. She's a spunky reporter from the Chicago Tribune, out to write an article that may or may not prove that Carter was actually not the hero he claims to be. Of course, problems arise when both men develop a fondness for her. I had a good time watching this move. I don't need every movie to knock me out of the park, I just want to be entertained. This did that. The style of this film is handled very well, complete with the Model T's, costumes, and the old timey score from Randy Newman, which I very much enjoyed. All the actors fill their roles, including some supporting work from Jonathon Pryce and Stephen Root. The dialog they use was very entertaining to me, fitting well in the screwball theme, particular the back and forth banter from Dodge and Lexi. There also a number of straight up slapstick moments that almost go overboard, fights in the speakeasy and prohibition cop chases, but still get some laughs. This was a fun movie that doesn't take itself too seriously. [While being chased by the police] Officer: Stop or I'll shoot. Lexi: [gasp!] Dodge: Don't worry, he always says that. [Officer shoots his gun] Lexi:[gasp] I thought you saide, "he always says that." Dodge: He does...then he shoots.

• Bradley W

  
  Leatherheads is a comedy/sports film directed by George Clooney that I will admit I found enjoyable. The plot was not very good, nothing really happens but the well written characters keep the film flowing enough so that its interesting. The dialogue of the film is also witty and… More
  Leatherheads is a comedy/sports film directed by George Clooney that I will admit I found enjoyable. The plot was not very good, nothing really happens but the well written characters keep the film flowing enough so that its interesting. The dialogue of the film is also witty and clever, and for a comedy I thought it actually was a smart comedy. The cast consists of great actors like George Clooney, Renee Zellwegger, and John Krakinski and I liked each one of them, and I was espically impressed with Zellwegger who I usually am not a huge fan of. George Clooney is a good director in my opinion, I loved The Idea of March and Good Night, and Good Luck and here he has proved to me that although it was not perfect, his directing skills can range to sports and comedy.

Read all 20 featured audience ratings